


Missing

by Elenhin



Category: The Almighty Johnsons
Genre: Christmas, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-11-05
Updated: 2013-11-05
Packaged: 2017-12-31 14:07:11
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,559
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1032580
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Elenhin/pseuds/Elenhin
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Another of my filler thingies based on the One Word at a Time by ever generous Aramirandme81. This is one I asked to have for a challange, and I was delighted t o recieve it, though it might be a bit sad. </p>
<p>The word  was Missing, the line was;  “Merry Christmas sweetheart.” Val says and kisses Mike as she sits down at the fully decked table. “Go ahead and dig in.” She says and starts piling potatoes on Axl’s plate.</p>
<p>“But…” Axl starts only to receive a warning look from Ty.</p>
<p>It’s too late and Val’s mouth tightens as she hands Axl his plate.</p>
<p>Mike sighs as quietly as he can, and tries his best to not notice what Axl was about to point out and Ty also knows. As much as they pretend otherwise the empty chair at the end of the table screams that someone is missing.</p>
<p>And this is what I did. Again, as always, big thanks to Aramirandme81</p>
            </blockquote>





	Missing

Missing

 

“Merry Christmas sweetheart.” Val says and kisses Mike as she sits down at the fully decked table. “Go ahead and dig in.” She says and starts piling potatoes on Axl’s plate.

 

“But…” Axl starts only to receive a warning look from Ty.

 

It’s too late and Val’s mouth tightens as she hands Axl his plate.

 

Mike sighs as quietly as he can, and tries his best to not notice what Axl was about to point out and Ty also knows. As much as they pretend otherwise the empty chair at the end of the table screams that someone is missing.

 

The whole day have been the same, a warm homely and merry feeling, the feeling of Christmas but always with that overlying shadow of something that should be there but is not. Someone who should be there but is missing.

 

Mike noticed it first when he brought out the decorations, becuase there are stockings there. He had thought the kids were too old for it, but Val is insistent that they use them. She’s bought stocking stuffings and it’s not like Ty and Axl won’t enjoy it after all. It’s just that his heart actually clenches when he puts one stocking back into the box. It’s limp and empty and that’s not right, but there is no way he can change that now.

 

So he turns his head to the side as he closes the box and takes the other two to Val who insists on locking herself  into the bedroom as she fills them. Axl, who was the worst one has outgrown trying to sneak a peak but Val loves the secrecy and Mike can not deny her. A real and proper family Christmas is so important to her that Mike figures it’s easiest to just go along. After all, it does no harm, only now he is thinking that  it does.

 

Axl is thrilled to find the stocking, fifteen years is not too old for a bit of childish delight over Christmas. Ty grins as he sticks a candy cane into his mouth and never mind they have not had breakfast yet. He’s smiling and Mike thinks it was a good idea after all but then Ty pulls the sweet out of his mouth and sighs as he turns away.

 

_“Come on, let’s trade,” Anders urges, holding out a bag of pineapple lumps, trying to tempt Ty into giving him his candy cane for the bag._

_“You got your own,” Ty grins. He do not mind trading, but he wants to see what Anders is prepared to offer for it._

_The blonde frowns, considering what is in his stocking, and what it will take to make Axl trade as well so that he has three candy canes. Finally he brings out the chewing gum and the orange as well. That leaves the chocolate bar for Axl and with some smooth talking it might be enough._

_Ty laughs and hands his candy cane over to his brother who is almost addicted to them over Christmas time. “Mum got extras,” he grins. “I bet I can get her to give them to us, and if I can’t, Axl can.” So he convinces Axl to give up his to Anders while getting nothing back for while she might not bring out the spare candy canes for Anders he knows she will for them._

 

Ty puts the candy cane away for the moment, he can eat it later, when it will not hurt so much.

 

Axl do not think very much about it at first, Christmas is so exciting, and he has almost gotten used to things the way they are by now. It is so long since they were a proper family, but it has never been this wrong before.

 

He is the youngest, so he is allowed to hand out the presents and he reaches under the tree to get them, reading the names, and it is wrong so very wrong. He gives Mike his, and then he takes the next one, and there is no one to take it and he has to turn around to hand it to Ty instead.

 

_“Anders,” Axl reads and makes to hand it to his big brother who is sprawled out in his favorite spot on the floor._

_“No way, you need to be good to get presents and Anders hasn’t been,” Ty grins teasingly, swatting his brother who simply rolls over. Though they never really get along, Christmas is a time when they do not fight._

_“I have so been,” Anders declares around a mouthful of candy cane._

_“When?” Mike wants to know while Axl giggles. He bursts into laughter when Anders makes a show of trying to think of ‘just one time’ that he has been good._

_“Okay, so I haven’t, give it to me now,” he demands with a smile on his face._

_“You need to be good first Anders, for a whole year, or no presents,” Mike states with mock seriousness and Axl puts the present down._

_“You don’t have any proof I wasn’t,” Anders grins, eyeing the present behind Axl._

_“Anders, I have all the proof I need to prove you haven’t been good, for the next ten years,” Mike points out. “So no present for you, schmuck.”_

_“Hey, I even got you a present,” Anders points to a sloppily wrapped present under the tree._

_“Oh, well, in that case, you need to do something to make up for all the shit stuff you’ve done,” Mike pretends to think. “Get us some sodas, and some crisps yeah? And I figure that should just about make up for it.”_

_“Fine,” Anders gets up and heads to the kitchen, returning with soda and crisps for them all._

_“Alright, I guess that’ll do,” Mike muses. “You’re forgiven, give him his precious present Axl.”_

_Axl hands it to him, And Anders gives a loud whoop._

 

There are no soda and no crisps this time, and no forgiveness for anything.

 

The meal is suddenly awkward and Val is clearly not happy with them. She can’t understand it, she’s worked so hard to give them a perfect christmas, and instead of enjoying it, they sit and pine for Anders.

 

Anders who is a terrible and selfish person, she still can’t understand the injustice that he is allowed to live healthy when Rob had to suffer. Rob who is such a good person. He did not deserve what happened to him, but Anders…

 

She wishes it would have been Anders, it would not have been so tragic then, it would have been a good thing for then he would not have been able to hurt anyone else. He had shown so clearly what he was on his twenty first, and Valerie still couldn’t understand why she fell for it. It was Rob she loved, so why would she ever have agreed to Anders? The worst of it all was that when his hair was longer and curled slightly Anders reminded her of how Rob had looked when they were all younger. And Anders, Anders of all people had no right to share the slightest similarity with Rob.

 

He did not even have the sense to know when he was not wanted. He had shown up a few days before, with a plastic bag that he left in front of the door before he turned around to leave.

 

He wore only shorts and t-shirt with a pair of flip flops and she was pleased to see he wasn’t really looking well. Too thin and he looked tired, and it pleased her to see it. Becuase Rob wouldn’t get to spend Christmas with his family, with her, so Anders did not deserve a good Christmas either. He really did not.

 

She had opened the door and checked the bag as soon as he had started down the street again, seeing a few wrapped packages there with Axl’s and Ty’s name on them. Angry that he would still seek to ruin their Christmas she had taken the bag and thrown it into the rubbish bin in the driveway. It was the right thing to do, and Anders turned around to see it. So at least he knew he wasn’t welcome and that she would not let him hurt his brothers anymore. They deserved so much better.

 

His face was blank, and he looked resigned more than angry that his evil plan had been fouled when he saw it, but his hand clenched around a brown paper sack and she could clearly see the shape of a bottle. Well, that was suitable company for him, let him spend Christmas drunk. It would mean he couldn’t ruin it for them, trying to force himself upon his younger brothers, as if she would really let him do that…

 

No, it was better they did not know what he had tried to do.

 

The worst thing was that there they sat, all three of them, and missing him.   
  
Missing Anders, becuase the empty chair screamed of his absence and it was a scream that tore through their hearts.

 

An empty chair is only empty if someone is missing.   
  
Anders is missing…

  
The End

 

Please comment, the Cricket is hungry, and urges that One Word at a Time be read with haste

Again, thank you for letting me do this... *hugs*


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